Chicago native and former Cub Jim Woods finally sees team win it all

At 77 years of age, lifelong Chicago Cubs fan Jim Woods thought Wednesday night might never come.

The Cubs, are … ahem, strike that … were professional sports’ most lovable losers, having gone 107 seasons without hoisting a World Series championship banner. But a century’s worth of frustration was erased when Chicago came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a thrilling, 10-inning affair.

“When they evened it up in the eighth, with just a couple innings to play, that was torture,” said Woods, a resident of Keyes who was born on Chicago’s North Side, about a mile from venerable Wrigley Field. “But I’m always hopeful.”

And when the game was finally over?

“Shock,” said Woods, whose favorite Cub player growing up was Hank Sauer. “I was really shocked because I’ve seen everything there is to see. I’ve seen the letdowns.”

Like 40 million other baseball fans, Woods tuned in Wednesday to watch Game 7 of the World Series and hung on every pitch.

Unlike most, however, Woods has a deeper tie to the franchise. He played for the Cubs in 1957, signing for $1,995 right after graduating from Lane Tech High School.

“I used that money to buy a 1957 black Ford convertible,” said Woods, a third baseman who played parts of three seasons in the major leagues.

Woods played in two games for his beloved Cubs as an 18-year-old that season, inserted as a pinch runner both times.

After a couple more seasons in the minor leagues, where he played with Chicago legend and future Hall of Famer Billy Williams, Woods was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, part of a three-for-one deal that garnered the Cubs Richie Ashburn, another future Hall of Famer.

“The Cubs had a guy named Santo they needed to make room for,” said Woods, referring to third baseman Ron Santo, one of the most beloved players in franchise history. “But, heck, I would’ve played another position. I don’t know why they had to trade me.”

Woods said the championship drought was 49 years when he signed with the Cubs – considerable, but not yet franchise-defining.

“Everybody knew the history,” said Woods, whose father, a lifelong Cubs fan who never saw the team win it all, worked as a bartender across the street from Wrigley Field. “But our only concern was mastering that year.”

Woods would play a total of 34 games for the Phillies during the 1960 and ’61 seasons, competing against the likes of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson and Stan Musial. He once hit a double off Sandy Koufax. He struck out twice during a no-hitter thrown by Warren Spahn. Rogers Hornsby was his batting coach. He even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated during the ’61 season.

“They told me, ‘Spahn: He’s around the plate, stick with it,’ ” said Woods, of a rather self-evident and insufficient scouting report.

Woods hit three home runs in the big leagues, his first coming off Pittsburgh’s Bob Friend, a three-time All-Star who averaged 16 wins a season from 1955 through 1964 and led the majors with 22 victories in 1958.

“Back then, (starting) pitchers liked to finish their own games,” said Woods, who also played in the 1951 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. “My first home run off Bob Friend spoiled his shutout bid.”

A fan in the left-field bleachers at Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium caught the ball and offered it to Woods, in exchange for two balls autographed by all the Phillies.

Today, that ball sits in his living room, along with the ticket stub from Game 1 of a doubleheader played on Sept. 20, 1960.

A retired ticketing agent for American Airlines, Woods hopes to return to Chicago soon to visit friends and his old neighborhood. He connected with two people from his past on Wednesday.

“My first wife and my first girlfriend from back in Chicago both called me,” said Woods, who was traded to the Cincinnati Reds organization before retiring in 1964. “They wanted to see how I was doing.”

For the first time ever, as a Cubs fan, Jim Woods is doing just fine.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Chicago native and former Cub Jim Woods finally sees team win it all."